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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826567">Two Sides Of One Coin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoyFlameball/pseuds/JoyFlameball'>JoyFlameball</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls, The Owl House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(barry benson voice) Ya like angst?, (dramatic kazoos), (slaps roof on characters) You can fit so much trauma and pain in these babies, A TON OF ANGST, Also if I portray panic attacks or PTSD wrong I'm really sorry, And if anyone (cough BILL cough) tries to hurt him, And not just in one or two appearances, And our demon dumbass, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Badass Mabel Pines, Bisexual Wendy Corduroy, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, But mostly angst because I live and breathe angst, But sure as hell it's an ending, Can't promise if it'll be good or bad, Crossover, DO NOT SKIP THESE TAGS, Death, Dipper Has PTSD, Dipper Pines Has Panic Attacks, Dipper Pines Needs A Hug, Dipper Pines Needs Sleep, Dipper is ✨ traumatized ✨, Dipper needs help and therapy, Don't worry they'll be in the fic, Don’t trust this to have a coherent plot, Eda and Lilith being siblings, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Four dumbasses being dumbasses, Gaslighting, Gen, Good Aunt Lilith Clawthorne, Good Parent Eda Clawthorne, Good Sister Mabel Pines, Gravity Falls Spoilers, Guys if anything in the tags is triggering to you don't feel like you have to read this, Hopefully you'll love her, Humor, Hurt Dipper Pines, Hurt/Comfort, I HAVE ABOUT FIFTY CHAPTERS PLANNED, I POURED MY LIFE AND SOUL INTO THESE TAGS, I love her a lot, I'm adding trigger warnings to chapters, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Insane Bill Cipher, It's a plot point but (hopefully) not cringy, I’ll add more tags as the fic continues, King is Bill Cipher, King is not okay, LGBTQ+ Character Of Color, LGBTQ+ characters, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Original Character(s), Luz and King: I WANNA GO HOME, Luz is not okay, Mabel is a badass in a knitted sweater, Mabel is not okay, Mabel is questioning her sexuality, Manipulation, Manipulative Bill Cipher, Me: Alright we're gonna add some fluff just to keep the readers on their toes- SIKE IT'S ALL ANGST, Mental Anguish, Mental Breakdown, Minor Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Mostly Gen, My pacing and storytelling is a complete mess but I’m just going to write this anyway, Near Death Experiences, Nightmares, No One Is Okay, Original Character(s), Our sweater dumbass, Our witch dumbass, PLUS THEY ARE IMPORTANT, PTSD, PTSD Dipper Pines, PTSD nightmares, Pain, Panic Attacks, People don't like King. King is confused as to why., Possible Character Death, Post-Canon, Post-Gravity Falls, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Luz Noceda, Protective Mabel Pines, Queer Character, Queer Gen, Queer Relationship, Repressed Memories, Returning to Gravity Falls, Sad Mabel Pines, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Self-Worth Issues, She's protecting Dipper with her life, Sleep Deprivation, Someone PLEASE give these traumatized teenagers a hug and therapy, Tags Are Fun, The four dumbasses of the apocolypse, These gals protecting their boys, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Trauma, WHAT THE F-CK, WHY DO I PLAN INTRICATE STORYLINES, Wait there's angst, We have our nerd dumbass, Wendy Corduroy/Original Character(s) - Freeform, Why do I do this to myself, You can bet there will be consequences, angst with an ending, because i do - Freeform, dipper is not okay, lgbtq+, nobody is okay, there's some gay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:07:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,154</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoyFlameball/pseuds/JoyFlameball</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been a year since Weirdmageddon. The twins are going back to Gravity Falls for summer. It'll be as normal as Gravity Falls gets, and at least less intense.</p><p>But it might not be peaceful. Dipper’s been having nightmares of Bill Cipher all year, each one more terrifying than the last. He can’t stop thinking of what Bill is saying - that he’s alive and waiting for revenge.</p><p>Mabel’s been helping Dipper, but she’s got her own worries. She’s confused about who she likes, and it’s weighing on her. And if she doesn’t like guys… Will her friends and family still care about her?</p><p>Meanwhile on the Boiling Isles, Luz has been missing her mom desperately. She still has the key to the human world, and then, she has the idea to use it. But when she and King go through the portal, they end up in a strange and magical town. And King finds it weirdly... Familiar.</p><p>So: A traumatized boy, his twin questioning herself, a witch-in-training trying to get back to her mentor or family, and a demon who has the same voice as someone who nearly killed the twins. All the while two weakened witches are trying to get to the human world to get their adoptive daughter back. What could possibly go wrong?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dipper Pines &amp; Mabel Pines, Eda Clawthorne &amp; Lilith Clawthorne, King &amp; Luz Noceda, Luz Noceda &amp; Dipper Pines, Luz Noceda &amp; Dipper Pines &amp; Mabel Pines, Wendy Corduroy &amp; Dipper Pines, Wendy Corduroy &amp; Dipper Pines &amp; Mabel Pines, Wendy Corduroy &amp; Mabel Pines, Wendy Corduroy/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>177</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Bad Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>E1</p><p>The Pines twins are going back to Gravity Falls for the summer. They want to have a peaceful summer without any reminders of world-destroying triangles, but Dipper's nightmares have other plans...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If you were a normal person, you'd have a normal summer. Sitting on the beach, drinking iced water, surfing, enjoying the sun, having fun before the terror that is school starts again. You probably would have looked at the two teens illuminated by the dawn sunlight - the boy with his nose in a book, writing furiously; and the girl with a blue-green sweater that was WAY too warm for 90-degree weather, giggling with a 35-pound pig on her lap - and would have thought they were just going to have a normal summer break as well.</p><p>But you probably aren’t the Pines Twins.</p><p>Dipper and Mabel Pines. Thirteen-year-old twins. They’ve been to Gravity Falls before, and have had some… crazy adventures there. For example: facing a giant gnome monster, swapping bodies, time-travelling, sneaking a merman out of a pool, raising the dead, being possessed by a triangle dream demon, having to save the world from said triangle dream demon, having to erase their Grunkle’s mind to destroy said triangle dream demon… Yeah. THAT sort of crazy.</p><p>But it’s all good now. The world didn’t end, the twins are safe, their Grunkle’s memories are okay, and they’re going back to their favorite place in the world to have a semi-normal summer.</p><p>Oh, if only that’s how the world worked.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Dipper was writing everything from their last summer down. He had remembered to start doing it a couple days ago, and had barely slept since he’d started. He had tried to get as much detail as possible, which was easy because it wasn’t hard to recall memories of their last summer - except for the memories he tried to <em> avoid. </em></p><p>“This is Mabel and Waddles, coming in from the Mabelcopter,” Mabel said in a dramatic voice. “This just in, we’ve got a nerd in town, and he seems to be extremely distracted… BOOP!” Mabel poked her brother in the nose.</p><p>Dipper laughed. “Mabel, come on! I’ve got to write everything from our last summer down. Since the journals got burnt-” His voice faltered as he remembered the pages turning to ash, the maniacal laughter of the one-eyed demon…</p><p>He pushed that memory back, clicking his pen to help himself focus. “I’ve been a bit cut off from our source of information about Gravity Falls, and we’ve been so busy with school that I couldn’t write it all down!”</p><p>“You can do that once we actually get to the town,” Mabel pointed out. “Right now, you need sleep.”</p><p>Dipper snorted. “No, I don’t need sl- sle-” He yawned.</p><p>“You haven’t slept for two days,” said Mabel. “I know you don’t want to have nightmares, but you need sleep.” She took a sip from her glittery pink water bottle. Dipper had one of his own, just black.</p><p>Dipper looked to the side, clicking his pen furiously. “I don’t need sleep.”</p><p>In reality, he did. He was extremely tired. But Mabel was right. He didn’t want to sleep, because every time he slept, his mind was invaded by nightmares that took him back to the week of Weirdmageddon. Sometimes they were haunted by maniacal laughter and taunts in a familiar, chilling, distorted voice.</p><p>It didn’t matter how many nightmares Dipper had. Each one terrified him to the core. And every time he heard that voice, he was sent into a state of complete and utter fear.</p><p>“Yeah, I think you do.” Mabel dramatically pointed to the roof. “I, the great and powerful Mabel, command you to sleep, as your great and powerful leader, but also your sister, and the twin with an extra millimeter on you!”</p><p>Waddles squealed in encouragement.</p><p>“See? Waddles agrees with me, you need sleep.”</p><p>“Okay, but I’ve been catching up!” Dipper’s eyes were already closing. “You have, like, a few centimeters now! I’m gonna end up taller, I kn-kn-” He yawned again.</p><p>“Sleeeeeeep.” Mabel pushed his head down, and moved to the seat across from him so he could lie down. “You need it.”</p><p>Before Dipper could form coherent protests, his eyes shut, and he was plunged into nightmares.</p><p> </p><p>Dipper was running.</p><p>Blue flames surrounded him, licking at his clothing, lighting his hair on fire. Pain sparked through every fiber of his being, like he was a drawing being erased, bit by bit.</p><p>He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t stop running. There was something he had to <em> see. </em> Something he’d missed.</p><p>Finally, he arrived, he coughed from the smoke, before hearing the voice.</p><p>“YOU IDIOT! DON’T YOU KNOW YOU’RE DESTROYING YOUR OWN MIND AS WELL?”</p><p>His heart nearly stopped.</p><p>He knew it was a dream. He knew it wasn’t real.</p><p>But that didn’t make it any less terrifying. He pressed himself against the burning walls, getting as far away from the scene of Stanley Pines and Bill Cipher. This must have been Dipper’s interpretation of what happened when they erased Stan’s mind to defeat Bill.</p><p>“Eh.” Stan shrugged. “It’s not like I was using this space for much, anyways.”</p><p>“LET ME OUT OF HERE!” screamed Bill. Even though Dipper knew it wasn’t real, that voice still sent shivers down his spine.</p><p>“Let me OUT!” Bill tried to use some of his Weirdmageddon powers, but they fizzled out. “UGH! WHY ISN’T THIS WORKING?”</p><p>“Hey, look at me.” Stan had stood up. “Turn around and look at me, you one-eyed demon!”</p><p>Bill turned, genuine fear in his eye.</p><p>“You’re a real wise guy, but you made one fatal mistake. You messed with my family.”</p><p>Dipper felt his heart warm. Even though he knew this probably didn’t happen and he was making it up, it was still nice to hear that Stan would even erase his own memory to save them. Dipper would have done the same thing for any of his family.</p><p>“YOU’RE making a mistake!” Bill cried, his voice filled with fear. “I’ll give you anything! Money, fame, riches, infinite power, your own GALAXY! PLEASE! NO!” He started distorting and melting in a truly horrifying way. “WHAT’S HAPPENING <em> TO ME?” </em></p><p>Then Bill started shouting distorted words that Dipper couldn’t understand, that he didn’t know. Was it in another language?</p><p>
  <em> “STAAAANLEEEEY!” </em>
</p><p>As Bill screeched for the last time, Stan punched the demon, and he broke into pieces, his last word still echoing around the room.</p><p>And then… It <em>reversed.</em></p><p>Dipper didn’t know what was happening. Everything was just going in reverse, rewinding - and he could hear what Bill was saying. He could understand the distorted words.</p><p>“A-X-O-L-O-T-L! MY TIME HAS COME TO BURN, I INVOKE THE ANCIENT POWER THAT I MAY RETURN!”</p><p>Dipper froze. <em> What? </em></p><p>And then… He was in the woods of Gravity Falls.</p><p>Dipper sighed, glad his mind had taken him somewhere comforting for once (even though his mind was still racing from the reversed message), before noticing something was very, <em> very </em> wrong.</p><p>The world was completely enveloped in grey, as if a black-and-white filter had just been applied to everything. And not only that, the trees had eyes… and they all seemed to be looking at him.</p><p>This was the way it looked in the Mindscape. And there seemed to be a yellow glow, coming from behind him...</p><p>“Well well well. It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Pine Tree?”</p><p>Dipper shut his eyes, refusing to turn around, refusing to look at the face of the demon that had been taunting him all school year, the demon that laughed in his nightmares and echoed in his head, the demon who had nearly destroyed the world.</p><p>“That’s a bit rude. I mean, turn around and look at a guy, will ya?”</p><p>“It’s not real,” muttered Dipper. “It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real…” He covered his ears, trying to change the dream through force of will. <em> Go to a river! Or a blank void! JUST GET ME AWAY FROM HERE! </em></p><p>
  <b>“TURN. AROUND.”</b>
</p><p>Against his will, Dipper turned around and opened his eyes.</p><p>He looked the same. Yellow triangle with a slight brick texture. Single cat eye with yellowish tinge. Black bow tie and black top hat. As if he hadn’t been destroyed in blue flames. As if those seven days of literal hell had never happened.</p><p>Dipper wanted to curl up and hide. He wanted to run, to get as far away from the nightmare as possible. But he was paralyzed with fear, powerless in the shadow of the demon.</p><p>“Bill,” he whispered. The name sent chills down his spine.</p><p>“How’ve you been doing?” Bill asked casually, like they were just two pals talking over lunch. “How’s Shooting Star? School? Your life? You better enjoy it while it lasts, kid.” He spun a black cane around.</p><p>“This isn’t real,” Dipper muttered. “You <em> died. </em> You were <em> erased.” </em></p><p>Bill laughed. “Death is a social construct. Trust me, kid, I’m not dead and I’m not going to be any time soon.”</p><p>“This is a dream!” shouted Dipper. “I’m just imagining this! You’re not alive, you can’t be… You <em> can’t </em>be.”</p><p>He was trying to sound brave, but his voice was shaky. He was stepping backwards, trying to get as far away from Bill as possible. Pure terror was spiking through him. He had been trying to convince himself that Bill was gone, but part of him was always paranoid that Bill was alive, plotting revenge.</p><p>Bill laughed. “You’re hilarious. Did you think that I’d still be gone if you brought back Stanley’s memories? You and your family just brought me back as well.”</p><p><em> This isn’t real, </em> Dipper thought, trying to control his pounding heart. <em> This is just my imagination. Bill is gone. Now get out of here. </em></p><p>Dipper turned and started running through the trees, but he couldn’t escape the eyes in the trees, staring at him.</p><p>Bill materialized in front of him. “You can’t run from me! In the Mindscape, the demon holds the power!”</p><p>“Get out of my head!” Dipper yelled. “Stop tormenting me! Stop coming into my dreams and-” He stopped, trying not to cry from fear.</p><p>“I’m not going to leave you be.” growled Bill. “Do you even know what <em> HAPPENED TO ME?” </em></p><p>Dipper backed up, crashing into a tree and falling. Just now did he see that Bill wasn’t quite like he remembered. He didn’t look as polished and clean.</p><p>No, there were <em> scars.  </em></p><p>Bill looked… <em> broken. </em> His triangle body had faint, tiny cracks all over it. His top hat had cracks circling it. His bow tie was split in half. </p><p>And his eye - oh, <em> god, </em> his eye.</p><p>It was cracked and scarred horribly, slightly glitching every few seconds. It was horrifying. Dipper didn’t know how he hadn’t seen it before, but he was seeing it now.</p><p>“I was shattered across dimensions.” Bill sounded furious, his voice growing more manic and insane with every word. “Ever since your uncle got his memories back, I have to pull myself back together, bit by bit. THIS broken form is as much as I could get. And I can’t find the last few pieces of me. And I don’t think I’ll EVER be able to find them - because of <em> YOU! </em> Because of Shooting Star! Because of your stupid uncles! ALL OF YOU ARE THE REASON I’M LIKE THIS!” He was screaming at this point. “YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU AND YOUR STUPID FAMILY! But I won’t be gone forever! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE! AND WHEN I DO, ALL OF YOU! <em> ALL OF YOU WILL FEEL MY WRATH!” </em></p><p>The trees all caught on fire, and suddenly Dipper was in Gravity Falls. </p><p>It was completely destroyed. Roofs had caved in, walls had exploded, everything was burnt to a crisp, blood staining everything. The air smelled of smoke and blood and death. And the worst thing: bodies were strewn across the streets, the buildings, everywhere. Toby Determined, Durland, Blubbs, Gideon, Pacifica, Soos, Wendy, Ford, Stan, Mabel.</p><p>Dipper couldn’t stop himself from sobbing and collapsing to his knees. This was <em> worse </em> than Weirdmageddon. This was what Bill wanted to happen to the world. He wanted everything to be destroyed. He wanted everything to burn, and everyone else along with it.</p><p>“This.” Bill’s voice came from right behind him. “This is what will happen. And I will enjoy <em> every second of it.” </em></p><p>“You’re insane,” choked Dipper, turning to the demon.</p><p>Bill’s hand shot out and wrapped around Dipper’s throat. “YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT? For one trillion years, I was trapped in the remains of the second dimension. I was alone, trapped, and crazy, but I had myself.”</p><p>Dipper gasped for air. He knew it was a dream, but the hand around his throat felt plenty real.</p><p>“Now, because of you, I’m in constant pain. I am lower than I’ve ever been. I can’t do ANYTHING. YOU BROKE ME. AND NOW…”</p><p>Bill suddenly started flying straight up in the air, still holding onto Dipper’s throat, flying until they could barely see the ground below them.</p><p>
  <b>“I’M GOING TO BREAK YOUR NECK.”</b>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, that was dramatic. I hope this was a good beginning to the fic, and I hope you'll stick along for the ride! I might not have a consistent uploading schedule, so please be patient with me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After Dipper's nightmare, the twins arrive in Gravity Falls and meet with some familiar faces.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Dipper woke up screaming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel grabbed his shoulders. “I’m here! I’m here!” Her face was full of worry and concern. “I’m here Dip, you’re okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper started panting, trying to regain control of his pounding heart. “Bill- Weird- He’s- Nightmare-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel handed him his black water bottle. “Here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper took his water bottle with shaking hands and took a sip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Over the last year, Dipper had been having panic attacks and bad nightmares, often waking up in the middle of the night screaming and not being able to get back to sleep. So Mabel had found out ways to help him get him to calm down afterwards. She’d been keeping water bottles, protein bars, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> gum on her than usual. She’d started learning breathing exercises with her brother. She had also become more responsible. She was still a goofball, but she was a lot less boy crazy, and had started prioritizing Dipper’s needs over her own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Plus there was another reason she’d become less boy crazy. She didn’t know quite what it was, but she had a suspicion, and it scared her. If she was right… She pushed the thought aside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you tell me what happened?” Mabel said softly. She got up and sat next to him. She picked up Waddles and put him on her lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a minute of Dipper calming down, he told her. His voice kept breaking as he described what Bill wanted to happen - the fires, the smell of death, the blood and bodies of their friends and family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he was done, Mabel took a stick of gum out of her bag and handed it to him. He started chewing it nervously, clicking his pen. Mabel didn’t know what to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m scared,” Dipper said softly. “What if… What if Bill’s alive, and we </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> kill him, and he’s going to start Weirdmageddon again, and he’s going to hurt all of us-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel pulled Dipper into a hug, trying to stop Dipper’s downwards spiral of panic. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not okay.” Dipper sounded like he was about to cry. “I’m just… I’m scared.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If he is alive, we’ll get him,” Mabel said confidently. “We beat him once, we can beat him again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t say what they were both thinking: that it had taken all they had to even </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span> to defeat Bill, and it wasn’t enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she didn’t want to worry her brother more. With the thought that it had taken everything to defeat Bill... And with some things that had been bothering her lately. Questions about herself, about who she <em>liked...</em> Which was dumb. She liked guys, she knew that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper pulled away from Mabel and looked out the window, seeing that it was no longer morning. “How long did I sleep?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you went to sleep around ten.” Mabel stopped <em>that</em> train of thought, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “And now it’s three.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I slept for five hours?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know! That’s nowhere near enough!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper laughed. He turned to look out the window, and a grin split his face. “Mabel, look!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pointed at the billboard with the words “Welcome to GRAVITY FALLS: Nothing to see here folks.” Mabel’s face lit up when she saw it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re almost there!” Mabel and Waddles started squealing. Dipper couldn’t suppress the grin on his face as he pushed thoughts of demons, triangles, and nightmares to the back of his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were back.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper and Mabel ran through Gravity Falls, both feeling massive bursts of happiness at seeing the trees, the citizens, the buildings. They had missed the town, and were just squealing the entire way down, with Waddles following them, squeaking happily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HELLO, GRAVITY FALLS!” yelled Mabel. “HELLO BUILDINGS! HELLO, TREES! HELLO, OMINOUS GROWLING FROM THE FOREST! HELLO, GRASS!” She flung herself onto a patch of ground. “Oh, how I missed you, grass!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper started laughing. Mabel’s happiness was contagious, and he had missed this town - this strange, weird, beautiful town. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled this much (which was honestly a bit sad).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel skipped back to her brother, giggling. “We’re back! We’re actually back!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can hardly believe it!” Dipper couldn’t wipe the grin from his face. “We’re actually he- AAAA!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His joy turned into a yelp as he and Mabel were picked up from behind. He had a moment of intense fear as his brain went through all the things that could be attacking them - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gnomes, zombies, wax figures, eye-bats... Bill, Bill’s here, he’s going to kill us</span>
  </em>
  <span> - before he realized that they were being hugged by someone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oof,” said a familiar voice. “You guys have gotten bigger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t just a rando. It was a teenage girl with long ginger hair, a green flannel shirt, navy jeans, leather boots, and a blue-white baseball hat with a pine tree.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wendy!” Dipper’s big smile returned. It was just his friend. He’d had a massive crush on her last year, but not anymore. He just saw her as a good friend, although he still did think she was pretty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wendy put the twins down, smiling. She didn’t have to look down as far anymore, since the twins had hit a growth spurt since last summer. “I haven’t seen you guys in a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A whole year!” Mabel was grinning and bouncing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper pulled Wendy’s old hat out of his bag and handed it to her. “I’ve been hanging onto this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wendy took Dipper’s hat off, and they switched. She smiled. “I missed this guy.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was unclear if she was talking about Dipper or the hat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you heard from Grunkle Stan and Ford?” asked Mabel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah. They’ve been out on the sea, adventuring and stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The twins were a little disappointed by that. They had hoped to see Stan and Ford again. But they were excited to see Soos's leadership at the shack. Speaking of which...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How have things been going at the Mystery Shack?” asked Dipper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty well. Soos has been running it, and he’s a surprisingly good boss. He’s keeping things going. You should see how great he’s doing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel squealed, bouncing up and down. “Yes! We’re going back!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, yes, yes!” Dipper had a massive smile on his face. He had wanted to see the Mystery Shack again for a year, and now he could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go,” said Wendy.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mystery Shack was fairly empty for the afternoon. There were just a few tourists inside. But the twins liked it this way - not many people around, just them and their friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel noticed that the triangle window from the attic was covered up, and the triangle rug had been replaced with a circle. Good. Dipper didn’t need any more reminders of Bill. He was already stressed enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The “employees only” door opened, and a large man in a suit, plain red fez, and eyepatch walked in. He looked up, and his face lit up. “Dudes!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“SOOS!” The twins ran at Soos, nearly knocking him over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two got taller,” noted Soos. “You used to be, like, here. Now you’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WE MISSED YOU SO SO MUCH!” squealed Mabel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve wanted to talk to someone from here for a year!” Dipper was hugging Soos tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get in here!” Soos pulled Wendy into the hug. She laughed and hugged them back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door opened, and two voices started screaming “MABEL!” One deep and masculine, one high and sweet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“AAAAAA!” Mabel broke away from the hug and dove into the hug of Candy and Grenda.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!” yelled Grenda. “I MET CANDY AT THE BUS STOP, AND WE WAITED FOR YOU!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We thought you weren’t coming today,” said Candy. “So we decided to come here. And here you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel squealed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to blow out your vocal chords from squealing so much,” said Dipper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I DON’T CARE!” Mabel was bouncing up and down. “I’M SO EXCITED! AAAA!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper laughed. He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He was surrounded by everyone he loved. He wasn’t scared of going to sleep. He wasn’t scared of nightmares invading his mind. He wasn’t scared of the possibility that Bill could be alive, or the thought of a single eye following his every move. He wasn’t scared of any of that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because finally, he was home.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue. Burning. Pain. Being erased. Yelling. Reversed words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was all the fluffy demon could register.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was also something else - a feeling of wrongness, of being incomplete. He’d felt like that when he and Luz had fought Lilith in the human world - like something was not quite right about where and who he was, like there was something </span>
  <em>
    <span>missing.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That feeling hadn’t left him, even when he was back at the Isles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then came a distorted laugh - </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> laugh. But no, he wasn’t laughing. So who-?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pain spiked through his body. It felt like every inch of his being was being dissolved in boiling rain and sucked somewhere. Titans, it hurt. He struggled for something to grab, to stay anchored to the world, to get away from whatever was trying to get him-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then King woke up.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Key To Humanity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Luz is missing home. She figures out a way to get back, but she's a bit far from where she wants to go.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Far away, in another dimension, the Dominican-</span>
  <span>American girl sat down on the couch, staring at the wall. The clouds in the sky outside were dark and gloomy. Perfect for her mood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz looked at her black, cracked phone screen. She didn’t have any WiFi, but that didn’t stop her from hoping.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like her world was crumbling around her. Luz couldn’t go back to the human world. She couldn’t talk to her mom. Eda couldn’t do magic. Amity’s leg was broken, and Willow and Gus’s parents were upset because of their uprising at Eda’s petrification, so they couldn’t talk. And just as the cherry on the depressing cake that was the day, it was a weekend. So no Hexside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey kid, you doing alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz looked up at Eda. She had one grey eye from the let-the-pain-be-shared spell she’d done with Lilith, and her gem was still black. But aside from that, she looked pretty much the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” sighed Luz. “I just… I miss my mom. I was so scared of talking to her a few weeks ago, and now… I just want to talk to her again.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned on her phone. Nothing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And </span>
  </em>
  <span>the battery was running low. Super.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, kid.” Eda put a hand on Luz’s shoulder. “I don’t know a lot about your relationship with your mom. I don’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> your mom. But I know that your mom cares about you. I bet she misses you. And in the meantime, until we find a way to get you home, you can crash here with us!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz gave Eda a hug. Eda wasn’t the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span> at comforting, but it still helped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still don’t get this,” muttered Eda. She had to admit, there was something nice about doing the parallel-arm thing with someone you cared about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They just stayed like that for a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, that’s enough.” Eda stood up. “If you’d excuse me, I’m going to try to exist in the same room as Lilith without arguing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz laughed. “I’m going to go to my room.” She was pretty sure she’d seen King taking a nap in there before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She got up and started walking up the stairs. Even with Eda’s advice (if you wanted to call it that), she still felt homesick. She just wished there was a way to get to the human world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz opened the door. King was sitting on her pillow, not asleep, just staring off into space.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey bud,” said Luz.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King looked at Luz. “Hey Luz.” He looked less energetic than usual, and that was reflected in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You doing alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Weird dreams.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wanna talk about it?” Luz sat down next to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was really… Confusing?” King shrugged. “I don’t know. There was a lot of blue fire, and a weird voice that sounded like mine, but… Not? The voice said ‘there you are,’ and then it hurt. A lot.” He shuddered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz frowned. “Dreams don’t usually hurt, and you usually forget them after a bit. Is it different for demons?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dreams don’t hurt, but we don’t forget them.” King looked at his paws. “This felt… </span>
  <em>
    <span>Real.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Real and scary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz looked at her friend with concern. She knew dreams weren’t real, but maybe dreams sent some sort of magic messages to demons, like in her books. If that was the case, what message was King being sent?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you?” asked King.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz sighed and looked at her hands. “I’ve been feeling homesick these days.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you sick because of home?” King looked confused. “Is that something that happens with humans?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz laughed. “No, no. Homesick just means I’m missing home.” She looked at her phone again. “I really miss my mom. I was terrified of seeing her, but… I just wanna talk to her. I know our relationship is a bit strained, but I know that she cares. She just wants me to be happy. I just-” Her voice broke, tears filling her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King walked over and gave Luz a hug. She hugged him back, trying hard not to cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just wanna see my mom,” Luz said quietly. “I just wanna go back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes of Luz trying not to cry and King hugging her, Luz quietly detached King.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” King looked at Luz, struck by a thought. “Where’s the key to the human world?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been keeping it.” Luz took the brown key with the yellow eye and black slit pupil out of her pocket. King felt that weird feeling he’d felt in the dream when he saw the eye, but it was quickly replaced by thrill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe it’ll work.” King’s eyes were full of childlike excitement. “Maybe it can summon the portal! Maybe you can-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped as he realized - this meant Luz might have to go. He’d really enjoyed the weeks she’d been on the Boiling Isles. He didn’t want her to leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz saw the sadness in King’s eyes. She didn’t want to leave him either. He was one of her best friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” she said softly. “What do you say we </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> go to the human world?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King looked up. “Don’t humans not know about demons? You’d get some weird looks if you were seen with a demon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could hide in my backpack.” Luz picked up her backpack and opened it. “And it won’t be for too long. If this works, we should be able to go to my world for a day, then come back by using the key!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, yes!” King jumped in. “Away, my minion! Let us travel to the human world!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz squealed as she stood up. Even when King was trying to be a demonic ruler, he was just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at the key in her hand. She had no idea if this would work, or if she was just overthinking. What if it didn’t work? What if it exploded? What if it hurt her, or King? What if something else horrible happened?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But what if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> work? What if Luz could see her mom, even for just a little while?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a chance, and she took it. Luz pressed the eye button.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nothing happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz exhaled with disappointment. What did she expect? She couldn’t see her mom again. The key needed the door to work, and the door was burned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King sighed. “Luz, I’m sorry. I thought that would-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the air in front of them fizzled and sparked with glowing white light. It was hot, like a growing fire. It slowly swelled into a large oval, and a welcoming breeze hit Luz’s face. Luz could see a blurry green landscape, like a forest of some kind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It worked,” she whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t believe it. But the portal was right in front of her, glowing and pulsing with light. Luz was trembling, but she didn’t know if it was from excitement or fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King felt that </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> feeling again. He had the urge to run into the portal. Something wasn’t right with </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. With where he was, with who he was, with </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span> he was. He felt close to something important.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go!” He started bouncing in Luz’s backpack. ”Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, you little goober,” Luz said with a laugh, as she put the key in a seperate pocket of her backpack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She slowly walked forwards, feeling the portal heat spread over her like a warm blanket. For a few moments, her vision was split between the forest and her room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she walked into the forest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door opened behind her, and then Eda’s voice shouted “LUZ!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But just as the human girl turned to see her mentor, the portal snapped shut, leaving her in the human world.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz didn’t move for a few seconds. She just stared at where the portal had been before registering her surroundings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t the building where she’d fought Lilith before. This was a strange forest of tall trees. (It was hard to tell what kind of trees they were, but they were definitely trees.) But it wasn’t like other forests she’d been in. This forest had a strange </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> to it. The air seemed to hum in a way that was very similar to the Boiling Isles, yet different somehow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m in the human world,” Luz said quietly. “I’m in the human world. I’m in the human world! I’M IN THE HUMAN WORLD!” Her face lit up with excitement as she started bouncing up and down, squealing. “I’M BACK! I’M HOME! I’m back in the human world, and I can see my mom and Eda’s… still in the… Boiling Isles…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her excitement was replaced by guilt. She had just... </span>
  <em>
    <span>left</span>
  </em>
  <span> Eda there. No warning. No excuse. She could have at least left a note. But instead, she’d just run off. Eda didn’t know what Luz and King were doing, and if the fight with Lilith had been evident enough, Eda would fight tooth and claw (sometimes literally) to protect Luz and King, which was sweet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Luz, are you okay?” asked King, poking his head out of her backpack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eda,” Luz said. “She doesn’t know why we’re here, she doesn’t know many glyphs, she doesn’t have magic, and if the Emperor’s Coven comes for her, she and Lilith won’t stand a chance… This was a bad idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King was silent. He was just looking around the forest with wide eyes. That </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> feeling was back, and even stronger. The forest… It felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>familiar,</span>
  </em>
  <span> like he’d been there before, even though he was pretty sure that he’d never been in a forest in the human world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz turned to the demon in her backpack. “You okay, bud?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Just a weird feeling.” He shuddered. “Do you know where we are?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” said Luz. The heat was familiar to California, but not quite. It was warm, but not scalding. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check Google Maps, but the battery was dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we can find someone who’ll tell us where we are?” Luz suggested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King nodded and got back in the backpack. Luz could tell he didn’t want to talk, so she quietly zipped it up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she walked through the forest, looking for anyone, Luz worried about her friend. He seemed different somehow, and not good different. The only time Luz had seen some of his usual chaotic energy come back was when he’d suggested going to the human world. She hoped her buddy would perk up soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a while of walking through the forest, Luz heard little feet, running across twigs. She tensed up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you hear that?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King was about to respond from inside the backpack when suddenly, Luz yelped as a tiny </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> knocked her flat on her face.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<span>“Luz!” King tried to get out of the backpack, but it was pitch-black inside, and he couldn’t find an exit. Luz tried to reach for the zipper, but her attacker disoriented her. Whatever it was, it was fast and hard to see. All Luz could make out was a blob of white, red, and blue. She could hardly tell what was happening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Less than an hour out of the Boiling Isles, and she was getting attacked by a blob.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz managed to grab a stick and hit her attacker with it like it was a baseball bat. It gave out a small cry of “Shmebulock!” and fell face-first to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz stood there for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath, as she looked at the small creature. It was about the size of her head, with a grey beard and an even greyer moustache. It had a blue long-sleeved shirt, navy pants, brown shoes, and a red cone-shaped hat. It looked a lot like the gnomes in stories.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“LUZ HELP!” yelled King’s voice. “I’M TRAPPED IN THIS BAG OF DARKNESS!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz facepalmed. She had completely forgotten about King, who was still trapped in her backpack. She quickly unzipped it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King got out immediately and shuddered. “I never want to be trapped in darkness again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry,” said Luz, picking up King. “I forgot you were in there for a second, and I was distracted by this gnome-thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shmebulock,” the gnome croaked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>King was looking at the gnome with that look in his eyes - like he was trying to remember something, but couldn’t. The word </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shmebulock</span>
  </em>
  <span> was familiar. He didn’t know why, but it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As King crawled up onto Luz’s head, Luz crossed her arms and looked down at the gnome with an expression like she was trying to be intimidating. (She was failing. It’s hard to be intimidating when you’re a 5”4’ human with no weapons and a cute fluffy demon on top of your head.) </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” she said. “What’s your name, uh, gnome?” (She was still failing at being intimidating, in case you were wondering.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shmebulock,” repeated the gnome.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You already said that.” King sounded exasperated. “Why are you repeating yourself?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Shmebulock jumped up, pointing at King with a look of pure terror in his eyes. “Shmebulock! Shmebulock!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz frowned. Why would the gnome be scared of King? He was just an adorable fluffy demon. Sure, if you weren’t looking at him and he was saying scary things, he could be pretty intimidating. But he’d just asked why Shmebulock was repeating himself. There was nothing scary about that. She was extremely confused, and her confusion only increased when the gnome made a triangle shape with his fingers, still looking extremely terrified of King.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, King?” she asked. “Do you know this guy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty sure I’ve never encountered a gnome,” said King.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out of nowhere, Shmebulock ran at Luz. She stumbled, giving Shmebulock an opportunity to knock her over. Everything in her backpack (which wasn’t much) spilled out. King almost fell on the ground, and barely managed to hold onto Luz’s shoulders. Shmebulock started rummaging through Luz’s stuff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Luz got up, glaring and towering over Shmebulock. (Still not intimidating.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t touch my friend’s stuff!” yelled King. “I am the King of Demons and you will obey me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately, the gnome shouted “SHMEBULOCK!” in fear, and he ran from the two, with something that looked like a small stick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz blinked for a few seconds, then grinned at her friend. “That was awesome!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haha!” King looked extremely happy. “Yes! He trembled at my feet, as he should!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz laughed and got down to put her stuff in her backpack as King got off her shoulders. “That was great, but we really need to…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes widened as she realized something was missing. She frantically emptied her backpack, looking for it, but it was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shmebulock hadn’t grabbed a stick. He’d grabbed the key to the Boiling Isles.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>WHOOOOOOOOOOOO! THE DISASTER BI IS FINALLY IN GRAVITY FALLS! At last, I can get to the parts I'm most excited about! The ANGST, THE TORMENTING, AND THE PAIN! And some fluff and fun times, but mostly, THE PAIN!</p><p>I know my pacing was a complete mess in this chapter, I'm trying my best. </p><p>Let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments! Or just leave comments in general. Getting comments just makes me so happy, because I know someone's enjoying my bad writing xD.</p><p>I know that this chapter is long. I considered ending it at Luz getting attacked and starting the next chapter with King being trapped in the backpack, but then I thought that this chapter ending with Luz finding out the key had been taken would be more dramatic.</p><p>I would just like to thank Glace on Discord for giving me that one piece I needed to connect all the dots of this chapter, thank you Glace you absolute legend</p><p>Hope you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Gnomes Of The Forest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Luz attempts reasoning with a bunch of gnomes. It doesn't go well.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>King realized it at the same time as Luz. His eyes widened with a look that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no.</span>
  </em>
  <span> (The look probably said something involving more curse words, but this is a </span>
  <span>mostly</span>
  <span> kid-friendly fic.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He stole the key!” Luz brushed all her stuff into her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and stood up. “This is not good, this is VERY not good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve got to get it back!” King grabbed a rock, looking like he was ready to charge into battle and smack some gnomes. Luz couldn’t blame him. She wanted to do the same thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Follow that gnome!” Luz picked up a stick and King (he crawled onto her shoulders), and started following where Shmebulock had gone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The duo ran through the woods, trying to keep track of Shmebulock’s tiny gnome feet. It was difficult, seeing as these were, as stated before, tiny gnome feet. But King had surprisingly good eyesight, and he helped Luz stay on course.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a while, the trees started changing from tall green-gold trees to more drooping trees with clumps of moss. (Luz thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aw, they’re sad trees</span>
  </em>
  <span> for a second, before noticing the trees formed a sort of canopy.) Blue mushrooms dotted the woods, with occasional red, spotted toadstool mushrooms. Tiny teal fireflies darted in and out between the trees. One zipped by Luz and landed on her ear. She giggled, and then it flew away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It all seemed like a magical forest from books.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz had a big smile on her face as she breathed in the warm summer air. Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the PG fantasy world she’d imagined. Nothing crazy or terrifying or nightmare-inducing. Just beautiful, pure magic. And it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>real,</span>
  </em>
  <span> if Shmebulock was any indication. If she didn’t have any moms and mentors back at the Owl House, she would have stayed in these woods forever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s beautiful,” she said softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Focus,” said King.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>King was talking to himself more than to Luz. It was like his brain was taking in every single detail from his surroundings and trying to recall it, even though he’d most likely never been there before. He’d been in the Boiling Isles all his life, he was sure of that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yet in the back of his mind, he could see a flash of a massive creature, chasing two children with brown hair and brown eyes… And for some reason, he felt an inexplicable rage towards the thought of them… His fists clenched… He wanted to murder them… He wanted to tear them limb from limb… He wanted to turn them into corpses in front of their loved ones, and disassemble their molecules, and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Where did THOSE thoughts come from? And why do they feel like I’ve said it before…?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz suddenly gasped and ducked behind a tree, snapping King out of it. The flashes of anger and images vanished, along with his murderous thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gnomes,” Luz whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>King slid off her shoulders and into her backpack. He had a feeling that if Shmebulock was among them, he would get the gnomes angry, and then Luz would have no chance of getting back to the Isles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Several gnomes were coming out of the trees. They all wore blue long-sleeved shirts, navy pants, brown shoes, and cone hats in varying shades of red. Most of them had grey or white hair and beards, although Luz could pick a few unique ones out. There was a gnome with swooping brown hair, one with black hair and a mustache to match, and one with so much braided blonde hair that Luz half expected him to have the thickest Scottish accent that would grace the Earth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz scanned the crowd, looking for Shmebulock, but she couldn’t spot him. To be fair, there were plenty of gnomes with grey-white beards, but none had the distinct features and moustache of Shmebulock.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gnome with brown hair - who appeared to be the leader - crawled onto a stump, so he towered over the other gnomes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How’re you all doing?” he said, appearing a bit nervous. “Are you all good? Larry, how’s your husband? Good, he’s good?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can he get on with it?” one of the gnomes muttered. Several other gnomes appeared unhappy, grumbling with annoyance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh.” The gnome looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> nervous, shuffling his feet and clasping his hands. “We’re still, uh, doing repairs in the forest from Weirdmageddon. There’s that. We are also- uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re done with the stallin’, Norman,'' snapped the black-haired gnome with a country-like accent. “We’re done with Weirdmageddon repairs and backbreakin’ work. We wanna know when we’re gettin’ a queen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gnomes all muttered in agreement. Some cries of “Queen! Queen!” were scattered about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-now hold on!” Norman, the gnome in the front, raised a finger, trying to placate the crowd. “The Henchmaniacs did a lot of damage to the forest, and every time we’ve tried to get a queen, we’ve failed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We only fail because of you.” To Luz’s immeasurable disappointment, the blonde gnome did not have a Scottish accent. In fact, he had the most boring, dull American accent in the history of accents. “We lost Mabel because of your plan to disguise us as a human. We lost Gideon because you listened to those twins.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>King felt even more </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> than before. Words that the gnomes had said - Weirdmageddon, Henchmaniacs, Mabel, Gideon - were all swirling in his mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why</span>
  </em>
  <span> did they all feel so weird, yet strangely familiar in his head? And why did he want to stab the last two names with jalapeño peppers? And how did he want to stab names? And what </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> jalapeño peppers? All important questions that probably wouldn’t get answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We only failed last summer because of the twins!” protested Norman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Then why did we fail to get the redhead this year?" The blonde gnome looked unimpressed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Because she was scary, she had an </span>
  <em>
    <span>axe,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and she had a less scary girlfriend with a shovel!" Norman was sweating. ”We can still-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“SHMEBULOOOOOOOOOOCK!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gnomes looked confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can still shmebulock?” muttered one. “What the heck does that mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, Shmebulock burst through the woods and ran up to the stump, waving the key and yelling “Shmebulock! Shmebulock!” His eyes and tone of voice were frantic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, woah, woah.” Norman looked annoyed. “Shmebulock, this is a community gnome meeting, what do you want?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmebulock waved his arms frantically as he yelled, making several hand movements, pointing at the eye on the key, making his fingers into a triangle shape and putting them over his eye. That seemed to unnerve the gnomes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Norman looked at the key, then at Shmebulock. “From your vague hand movements and frantic tone, I’m guessing… Something to do with </span>
  <em>
    <span>him?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmebulock nodded. “Shmebulock.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gnomes started whispering in hushed tones. An air of fear passed over the crowd.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it can’t be…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Twins erased him…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But the statue…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz was confused. Who was this “him,” why did the gnomes seem so scared of him, and what did it have to do with the key?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmebulock picked up a rock and handed it to Norman. “Shmebulock.” He mimed smashing something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Norman nodded and turned to the crowd. “I am guessing that Shmebulock is saying that this key clearly has some connection to </span>
  <em>
    <span>him,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and we cannot allow it to exist.” He turned to Shmebulock. “Did I get that right? Did I understand that correctly?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmebulock nodded. "Shmebulock."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Norman turned back. "So, to get rid of traces of Bill, in case he has some sort of evil plans, we've got to destroy this key."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz nearly screamed. She couldn't let them destroy the key. If they did, she and King wouldn't be able to get back to the Boiling Isles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, without using one of her braincells (because doing that and/or using logic would be ludicrous), she ran out from behind the tree, yelling "Sorry, that's my key, sorry, thank you, I need that, okay, thank you, sorry, bye!" and snatching the key from Norman's hands. She tried to run, but a tower of gnomes blocked her path. A few tripped her, and she fell to the ground. She lost her grip on the key, and it fell close to the stump. King spun out of the backpack.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shoot,</span>
  </em>
  <span> thought Luz. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I should have zipped that up.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmebulock clearly recognised them, because he cried "Shmebulock!" in fear and hid behind Norman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz suddenly realized the this-is-bad of the situation. She had just tried to steal what was hers from a bunch of gnomes. They were small, but they outnumbered her and King fifty(ish) to two.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hi," she said awkwardly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>If you have some magic ability to read minds, King, please don't talk. If Shmebulock was an example, these guys won't like you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned to him and put a finger on her lips, trying to convey all that without speaking. King nodded, understanding, and Luz turned back to the gnomes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who are you?" demanded Norman. "Why are you stealing our key?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That is</span>
  <em>
    <span> my</span>
  </em>
  <span> key." Luz scooped up King like a cat and stood up. "That guy-" (she pointed at Shmebulock, who cowered) "-stole that key from me and my friend."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Shmebulock," whimpered Shmebulock.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gnomes murmured among themselves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why does the key have </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> on it?" Norman picked up the key and gestured to the snake-like eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's… an eye? Why does an eye require a freakout?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gnomes stared at her like she'd just asked what color the sky was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Have you </span>
  <em>
    <span>been</span>
  </em>
  <span> here before?" Norman's eyes were bulging.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No. Listen, I'm just trying to get home. Or back to my mentor. And I need that key to go back, okay? I'm not gonna hurt you. So how about this. You give me the key, and I leave you alone and we never speak again. Do we have a deal?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Norman looked like he was considering letting her be. The gnomes seemed to be coming around as well, but they still looked extremely suspicious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She said, do we have a deal?" said King, getting a bit frustrated with the delay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was a big mistake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately, a look of fear spread across the gnomes' faces. They collectively backed up. A few scrambled away, trying to get far away from King.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anger spread across Norman's face. "YOU!" He pointed at King.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>King blinked. "Me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What did you do to her?" demanded Norman. "Possess her? Kill her? Replace her head-thinking thing with demons?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What?!" Luz was alarmed. Were they implying King had </span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span> that in the past?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't do any of that stuff!" cried King. "Luz is my best friend!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You don't have friends, </span>
  <em>
    <span>demon,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> growled Norman. "You have allies, minions, henchmen. Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think you've got the wrong demon." Luz hugged King close to her chest, protecting him from the onslaught of angry gnomes. "King has friends. He's got me, Eda, Amity, Willow, Gus, and… Lilith? Does Lilith count as his friend?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What did he promise you?" asked Norman. "Money? Fame? Power? A galaxy of your own?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Those words in that order stirred something deep within King's mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll give you anything! Money, fame, riches, infinite power, your own GALAXY! PLEASE!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He didn't 'promise' anything like that!" Luz's voice snapped King back to the present. "We're friends!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's been tricked," Norman said, turning to the gnomes. "Cipher has got her like he got that… older guy, whatever his name was, the one who got trapped."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>King had a feeling in the back of his skull, like he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> who Norman was talking about. But at the same time, he didn't.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We've got to save her!" yelled Norman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't need-" Luz tried to speak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"AND THEN SHE'LL BE OUR QUEEN!" yelled the blonde gnome.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What?!" Luz yelped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could explain that she was a fourteen-year-old girl, these were gnomes, it was weird, you should probably not ship minors with other species who are many years older than the minor, and this relationship would probably be abusive anyway, the gnomes bared their sharp teeth and charged.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you thought I was done with the cliffhangers, you are dead wrong. This fic is cliffhanger central!</p>
<p>King is starting to remember actual flashes... THE ANGST!</p>
<p>Next chapter! Pines Twins, Wendy, escapes, fighting, action, Dipper needing therapy, Mabel being a good sister, and ANGST!</p>
<p>HAPPY NEW YEAR, AND A GOODBYE TO THE HELL THAT WAS 2020! STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY Y'ALL!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, that was dramatic. I hope this was a good beginning to the fic, and I hope you'll stick along for the ride! I might not have a consistent uploading schedule, so please be patient with me.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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